Being different…?
I’d like to speak with you in plain English for a moment, I hope that’s ok? How many meetings do you go to at work, where at least half of the time is spent listening to others trying to be noticed by the boss, or subtly trying to undermine their colleagues? What about when the agenda item is not too clear, and everyone colludes with the lack of clarity by “thinking on their feet” and engaging in a rambling conversation? Or those sessions where people have already made up their minds, but because they want to appear to be inclusive, they have a consultation or “test the temperature” of the room?
All these situations occur, at some level, every day in every organisation, and it seems that we are powerless to create a new order of being. The conceptual clarity about Task Authority and Organisation (TAO of Tavistock) often become lost in the drive for Action, Power and Position.
Leaders and followers need space to really reflect on the purpose of their role in the world, and how they can find meaningful ways of being to achieve that purpose. However, we are all too busy with apps / technology and winning approval and appreciation, that we are cut off from the deeper layers from which emerge a sense of purpose and energy to challenge the old ways of being at work.
The Leicester Conference, the genesis of Group Relations learning laboratories, is 14 days of sustained, contained learning for leadership. Not a conference in the contemporary use of the word, but a bringing together of people with the shared purpose of understanding the dynamics of groups and systems by experiencing them, and then reflecting and making sense of them. This learning is deep and long lasting because the meaning comes from the inside out – not as usually happens in learning environments from the outside in.
We are all so filled up with other people’s ideas and opinions that we are alienated from ourselves. The learning from the Leicester Conference puts you back in touch with what is true and meaningful for you. So you can return to the world of work and life, armed with a renewed way of seeing and so find a new realm of possibility for being.
I invite you to consider how Presence and Absence live in your life, and to ask yourself how IN or OUT you are at work.
Will we continue to collude in rambling and power games, or will we wrestle a-new with holding on to Task as we exercise Authority in our Organisations?
Don’t miss out on the early bird discount for the 71st Leicester Conference from 5 – 18 August. Together, we’ll find out how close we are toward making conscious transformation a reality in corporate and community life.
Leslie Brissett
Director, Leicester Conference 2017
More information about the conference can be found here. For a brochure or if you have any questions, please contact Rachel Kelly, Conference Administrator. A £500 Early Bird discount is available until the end of May.
e: r.kelly@tavinstitute.org
t: +44 (0)20 7457 3927
